Democrats go apeshit.
Martin Walsh, Conservative Brief: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Announces Plans For Private Military Force
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has re-established the Florida State Guard, a state-controlled private military force.
Last I knew, the states were actually government institutions, so writer Martin Walsh's frantic references to a "private military force" are nonsensical. Are the Florida State Police a private police force? Logic does not seem to be a strong suit.
The Florida State Guard, which existed during the World War II era, would not be controlled by the Pentagon and would be a separate, non-federal entity.
“Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the reestablishment of the Florida State Guard and introduced the new director of this emergency-focused civilian volunteer force, retired Marine Corps. Lieutenant Colonel Chris Graham. By bringing back the Florida State Guard, Florida now joins 22 other states and territories with state-level defense forces, and many other states have laws on the books allowing for the activation of these organizations. Florida will add 400 members of the Florida State Guard to respond to a projected active hurricane season, and more than 1,200 individuals have already expressed interest in joining. To learn more about this opportunity to serve your fellow Floridians under the direction of Florida’s elected officials,” DeSantis’ office said in a press release.
“The U.S. military has been kicking out great service members over the Biden administration’s unacceptable COVID vaccine mandate, and they are even targeting members of the National Guard. The bureaucrats in D.C. who control our National Guard have also refused to increase the number of guardsmen despite our increasing population, leaving Florida with the second worst National Guardsman to resident ratio. By reestablishing the Florida State Guard under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Graham, we have a great opportunity to expand our capability to help people in times of need or disaster,” DeSantis said.
Meanwhile, Democrats are distraught.
State Sen. Annette Taddeo tweeted that DeSantis was a “wannabe dictator.”
“Wannabe dictator trying to make his move for his own vigilante militia like we’ve seen in Cuba. Florida is not and will never be Ronnie’s regime,” she said.
“No Governor should have his own handpicked secret police,” Rep. Charlie Crist, a Democrat who is challenging DeSantis for governor, said.
Which brings me to this:
Second Amendment
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Before the Supreme Court's Heller decision, Democrats and other enemies of freedom argued that the Second Amendment did not confer the right of an individual to keep and bear arms, but instead established the right of the states to maintain well regulated militias.
Obviously, that particular Democrat argument is now inoperable, to borrow a term coined during the Watergate days by the Nixon White House. In the Heller case, the Supreme Court decided that the Second Amendment did indeed establish an individual's right to keep and bear arms for the purpose of self-defense.
Now, to the Democrats' chagrin, a plain reading of the Second Amendment seems to establish both: an individual right to bear arms and a right of the states to establish well regulated militias.